Bisbee, Arizona, Reconsiders 'The Great Deportation' Of 191705:00

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The Bisbee Deportation started in the early morning hours of July 12, 1917. Striking miners, and other men caught up in the frenzy, were marched several miles out of the small Southern Arizona town. About 1,200 were eventually packed into cattle cars and unloaded in the middle of the New Mexico desert. (Courtesy of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate)

The small Southern Arizona town of Bisbee is known for its artist community and its liberal politics. But long before it was a quirky weekend destination, Bisbee was a mining town. And one century ago, it was the site of a large-scale kidnapping organized by the mining companies of the time.

The posse of 2,000 men who forced the deportees from Bisbee had been quickly deputized by Bisbee Sheriff Harry Wheeler. One deportee was killed during the arrests -- as was one of the members of the arresting posse. (Courtesy of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate)The striking miners were given a choice to renounce their union or be forced by gunpoint in cattle cars, still dirty from livestock. Each car held about 50 men. Reports from the time say there was little water or food given to them during the 11-hour journey. (Courtesy of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate)Most of the deportees were foreigners, many Mexican and European, and historians think their nationality helped fuel the mob of vigilantes who forced them from their homes. (Courtesy of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate)